Two-times Cub Prix Champion Ahmad Fazli Sham placed team PETRONAS Yamaha Maju back on the title hunt trail  when he scored a convincing win in the opening leg of the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship held at Temerloh, Pahang last weekend. 

Fazli was one of the top three riders during the CP130 Timed Practice on Saturday but suffered a disappointing session during the critical CP130 SuperPole when he lost the front row starting position to the high flying trio of team Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK, Mohd Zamri Baba, Norizman Ismail and Elly Idzlianizar Ilias.

However, the experienced rider rallied strongly in the final race. Starting from the second row, Fazli charged into second position behind leader Norizman Ismail, barely keeping ahead of third placed Zamri Baba. The three-way battle continued until Zamri made a move on Norizman on Lap 8. But in doing so, Zamri also created a gap for Fazli to slip through into the lead. By Lap 10, Fazli had created a half-second gap ahead of his SCK rival.

As the chequered flag came down on Lap 18, Fazli was the clear winner with a time of 13:30.577s, 0.754 seconds in front of Zamri Baba. The last place on the podium was taken up by Norizman Ismail who crossed the finish line with a time of 13:38.604s.

“The bike was amazingly stable this weekend. Our team (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju) are still racing with our 2014 model machines but had completely revamped the engine. At the same time, the team mechanics seem to have found the right formula for our suspension set-up.

Today’s bike was a dream to ride! What’s even more exciting for me is that our team manager, Yong Ying Hoe, intends to continue introducing more upgrades as each round progresses,” said Fazli, the early leader in the CP130 standings.

The team’s positive results in Temerloh was not just limited to the CP130 premiere class. Team Maju’s junior rider Kasma Daniel Kasmayuddin celebrated an achievement of his own when he finished on the CP115 podium in second place. 

In other developments, Tengku Amirul Haffiruddin managed to extend the team YY Pang domination into the start of the 2015 season when he took the CP115 victory with a time of 11:25.748s. Tengku Amirul, together with team mate Mohd Izzat Zaidi tag-teamed their way to the podium in first and third positions respectively. The hot favourite of the class, Khairul Idham Pawi, was left frustrated by a mechanical failure that occurred on the first lap of the race.

Finally, in the age-capped Wira class, young Saiful Izman Ahmad Zamani lived up to his family name and heritage when he netted his first victory in the open-make classes. The son of former top Malaysian rider Ahmad Zamani Baharuddin and racing for team FELDA AFB Tech Caldinals Racing which is owned by Ahmad Fuad Baharudin, Saiful Izman rode an aggressive race during the Wira Finals to win with a time of 9:28.930s.

Md Harith Farhan Baharin who clocked the fastest lap during the timed practice was hard pressed to keep up with Saiful Izman’s charging style, and had to settle for second place with 9:29.138s. In third place, Nazirul Izzat Md Bahauddin rounded up the winning trio in third place with 9:30.807s. 

Round 2 of the 2015 PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship will take place at Batu Kawan in Pulau Pinang on April 11 and 12, 2015.

Results:

CP130

  1. Ahmad Fazli Sham (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 13:30.577s
  2. Mohd Zamri Baba (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 13:31.331s
  3. Norizman Ismail (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 13:36.804s
  4. Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (Harian Metro Y-TEQ SCK Honda Racing) 13:38.733s
  5. Mohd Adib Rosley (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 13:38.948s

CP115 

  1. Tengku Amirul Haffirudin (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 11:25.748s
  2. Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (PETRONAS Yamaha Maju Motor) 11:29.983s
  3. Mohd Izzat Zaidi Salehan (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) 11:31.692s
  4. Mohd Emir Firdaus Hasan (Jetron Apido Team PJM) 11:32.113s
  5. Mohd Azam Omar (PETRONAS Yamaha CKJ) 11:32.244s

WIRA

  1. Saiful Izman Ahmad Zamani (Felda AFB Tech Caldinals Racing) 9:28.930s
  2. Mohd Harith Farhan Baharin (Kozi Yam Honda Racing) 9:29.138s
  3. Nazirul Izzat Mohd Bahauddin (elf KC Racing) 9:30.807s
  4. Amirul Hakim Mohd Rizal (Persendirian) 9:31.045s
  5. Mohd Khairul Ikhwan Ajis (Yamalube AHM) 9:31.218s
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